Addition products of ethylene oxide to fatty alcohols possess detergent properties and are widely used. However, these products are not satisfactory since they are difficult to pour in the temperature range from 5.degree. to 20.degree. C. because of their high viscosity. Attempting to reduce the viscosity of the products by dilution with water has led to an undesirable gel formation in most cases.
It has been suggested in German Published Application (DOS) No. 22 05 337 that these disadvantageous characteristics can be avoided by adding an anionic surface-active compound or tenside in an amount of from 1 to 10% by weight, based on the total weight of the detergent mixture, to the condensation products of ethylene oxide and linear fatty alcohols. This approach has the disadvantage that the characteristic of the nonionic tensides or surface-active compounds is changed completely by the addition of anionic tensides shifting the turbidity points of the nonionic ethylene oxide addition products strongly toward higher temperatures or causing their complete disappearance.
Detergent compositions comprising addition products of ethylene oxide to fatty alcohols have now been found that, like the known mixtures with anionic tensides, have a lower viscosity at room temperature, but do not exhibit the disadvantages of the latter. The new compositions contain addition products of ethylene oxide to nonterminal vicinal alkane diols.